Fish breathe underwater using their gills! 🌊 Gills are like tiny filters on the sides of their heads. When fish swim, they open their mouths and take in water. The water flows over their gills, which take out the air (oxygen) from the water, just like how we breathe air with our lungs! Then, the fish let the water out through their gill flaps. Cool, right? 😊
Fish have a special breathing system called gills that let them take oxygen from water! 🐠 Here’s how it works:
1. Fish open their mouths and swallow water. 🌊
2. The water flows over their gills, which are made of thin, feathery filaments. These filaments have tiny blood vessels that absorb oxygen from the water.
3. The oxygen goes into their blood, and the fish releases the used water through gill slits on the sides of their heads.
Unlike us, fish can’t breathe air—they need water to survive! Some fish, like sharks, must keep swimming to keep water moving over their gills.
Fish breathe underwater using gills, specialized organs that extract dissolved oxygen from water. Here’s the science behind it:
1. Water Intake: Fish take in water through their mouths as they swim. Unlike air, water contains much less oxygen, so fish need efficient systems to extract it.
2. Gas Exchange: The water flows over the gill filaments, which are packed with capillaries. Oxygen diffuses from the water into the blood, while carbon dioxide (a waste product) is released back into the water.
3. Water Expulsion: The oxygen-depleted water exits through gill slits.
- Some fish, like tuna, must swim continuously to force water over their gills (ram ventilation).
- Others, like lungfish, have evolved lungs to survive in low-oxygen water or even on land!